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If interest exceeds capacity (25 participants per roundtable), DHSC may not be able to invite all eligible stakeholders. In this case, DHSC will select roundtable participants based on the below criteria:\n• Ensuring a balanced mix of stakeholder groups for each roundtable \n• Ensuring a balanced representation across regions.\nAlongside this, all stakeholders are encouraged to complete an accompanying survey. All stakeholders are invited to complete this survey, regardless of whether they are attending a roundtable. All individual responses will be kept confidential within DHSC and used solely to gather insights on challenges and potential solutions in fit-testing capacity. Only aggregated and anonymised insights may be shared wider.\nComplete the survey here: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=MIwnYaiRMUyMH-9N6Jc6HD5FeWMrqfNMlI-J0y-poM1UM0k4NVIzMExSMFo2NzFPNk1PS0FXUVRTOS4u\nSurvey deadline: 11:59 pm, Monday 2 March 2026\n(This engagement is neither a procurement exercise nor a call for competition. DHSC does not commit to any specific action at this stage. The roundtables and survey are for information gathering only. Further engagement may follow as required.)\nFor any questions about this opportunity, please contact fit-testing@dhsc.gov.uk." } ], "dueDate": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "2026-03-02T23:59:59Z" } ], "status": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "scheduled" } ] } ], "documents": [ { "id": "009517-2026", "documentType": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "marketEngagementNotice" } ], "noticeType": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "UK2" } ], "description": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender" } ], "url": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009517-2026" } ], "datePublished": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z" } ], "format": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "text/html" } ] } ] }, "tender": { "id": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "ocds-h6vhtk-061582" } ], "legalBasis": { "id": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "2023/54" } ], "scheme": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "UKPGA" } ], "uri": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents" } ] }, "title": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "Fit-Testing Solutions - Early Market Engagement" } ], "description": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is looking to engage stakeholders to explore how the UK can strengthen capacity for respirator fit testing across health and adult social care, namely for “Filtering Facepiece Class 3” (FFP3) masks. FFP3 masks offer high levels of protection, removing at least 99% of airborne particles such as viruses, toxic dusts, and aerosols. To ensure this level of protection is achieved, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) requires in-person fit testing by a trained tester.\nThere’s an ongoing shortage of respirator fit-testing capacity across the health and care sector. During business as usual, adult social care and the NHS can have limited need for tight-fitting respirators. However, changes in demand (such as during a pandemic) could significantly constrain access to appropriate protection without sufficient fit-testing capability. DHSC is therefore seeking input from stakeholders with relevant experience and expertise to identify challenges and potential solutions.\nThis engagement is seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders that have direct or indirect involvement in delivering fit testing across health and social care, with a focus on longer-term, innovative approaches to improving fit-testing capacity, including digital or artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. In a separate engagement exercise, DHSC is planning to engage exclusively with fit-testing providers, specifically to gain further understanding of the current fit-testing market and landscape, and implications for associated surge capacity to delivering fit testing in a future pandemic. Thus, this other exercise will aim to deliver increased resilience and preparedness for a future pandemic, if required, in the near term, while longer-term initiatives are defined and pursued.\nThis could be a significant opportunity to contribute towards developing a solution for fit testing across health and social care, helping to address a need that is currently not being met. In England, there were a total of 1.71 million workforce posts in adult social care in 2024/25 (plus unpaid carers and personal assistants) and a further 1.5 million in the NHS (August 2025)." } ], "items": [ { "id": "1", "additionalClassifications": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": [ { "scheme": "CPV", "id": "85000000", "description": "Health and social work services" }, { "scheme": "CPV", "id": "38540000", "description": "Machines and apparatus for testing and measuring" }, { "scheme": "CPV", "id": "72212180", "description": "Medical software development services" }, { "scheme": "CPV", "id": "48180000", "description": "Medical software package" }, { "scheme": "CPV", "id": "33190000", "description": "Miscellaneous medical devices and products" }, { "scheme": "CPV", "id": "33141000", "description": "Disposable non-chemical medical consumables and haematological consumables" }, { "scheme": "CPV", "id": "18100000", "description": "Occupational clothing, special workwear and accessories" } ] } ], "relatedLot": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "1" } ] } ], "value": { "amountGross": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": 0 } ], "amount": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": 0 } ], "currency": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "GBP" } ] }, "mainProcurementCategory": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "services" } ], "lots": [ { "id": "1", "contractPeriod": { "startDate": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "2026-02-03T00:00:00Z" } ], "endDate": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "2026-03-02T23:59:59Z" } ] }, "status": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "planning" } ] } ], "status": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "planning" } ] }, "language": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "en" } ], "extensions": [ { "releaseID": "009517-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-02-03T14:36:32Z", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": [ "https://standard.open-contracting.org/profiles/eu/latest/en/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_amendment_rationale_classifications_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_budget_breakdown_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_contract_completion_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_documentation_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_pagination_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_suitability_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/portaledcahn/ocds_Links_extension/main/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cabinetoffice/ocds_uk_extension/main/extension.json" ] } ] } } ] }